Multi-unit housings in urban areas are mainly composed of two types; apartments which function as an economic means and multiplex housings built on the site that is not big enough for apartments.
Apartment building became relatively high-cost housing since it was mostly constructed by large construction companies. On the contrary, multiplex housing have been supplied at low price by small companies in smaller scales. However, as the quality gap between two types is widening over time, the need for multi-unit housing that holds the both advantage from each side has arisen.

Request from the Client
The client asked for a residence in-between apartment and multiplex housing after the demolition of existing house used as publishing company, and the result had to be differentiated from surrounding buildings. In addition, the client also requested for a small space on ground floor to maintain publishing work. To produce profit by constructing a building which is not for publishing, the volume of the building had to be maximized within the site. Also, progressing the construction within the reasonable amount of cost was the fundamental prerequisite. Although the building is composed of small studios resulting from the profit, the project started with a common aim to provide high spatial quality for the residents.

Diverse Proposals
We hoped that the ideas toward the building, the relationships between generations, and connection with exterior to be revealed through the progress. The building site was surrounded by other similar-scaled multiplex housings, therefore we decided to distinguish its characteristic by exterior. No window was put towards the road, and in result, unique appearance was created.

In terms of interior space, we focused on common space such as corridors between units and stairs while simultaneously keeping the privacy among units. The ultimate question was “What will we face after we take out most of the elements from the building while only leaving the necessary parts?”

We wanted light, wind, and movement of plants to flow into the corridor and staircase by widening the gap between the stair wall and units, consequently the interior space to change through the open gap.

In order to make efficient use of small-sized residential space, ready-made furniture could not be used. We designed and produced bed, desk, and lighting according to the function and size of the room to improve spatial satisfaction.

Small Hope
As the form of urban multi-unit housings has become monotonous, urban houses failed to meet the demands of various types of life. This project was proceeded with the hope of introducing new proposals and making small changes in the sterile urban housing environment.